THE FINISHING LINE COULD NEVER LOOK SWEETER, YOUR DEGREE IS THE REWARD FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND YOUR FUTURE IS OPENING UP BEFORE YOU. IT'S THE START OF GREAT THINGS TO COME!


Interview prep


A vital ingredient to getting a job is surviving a gruelling interview! Not all are intense but as a graduate it will be important to be able to talk about your strengths and weaknesses confidently, and the more prepared you are, the easier this will become...

Preparation will enhance your impact

Prepare. Prepare. Prepare! This can be critical to your success and will make a huge difference to your confidence. “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” So, this is your opportunity to make it a positive one.
  • Give yourself plenty of time.
  • Create a plan.
  • Know your CV inside out and practice some common questions.
  • Use the STAR model to help structure your responses (please contact us for a full copy of the GradGuide2011 to get a template for this).
Research the organisation
Ensuring you have a clear understanding about their products/services and target market will stand you in good stead for the inevitable question: “So, what do you know about us?” Interviewers are looking for someone who is passionate and serious about working for them so use your research to demonstrate your motivation and interest.

Demonstrate your achievements
Most employers use a structured interview to assess a graduate’s suitability to join their organisation, either on their graduate training programme or for a permanent role. Some organisations will tell you they are going to conduct a “competence (or criteria) based interview” as part of their selection process. If you are not given this information, then ask the question. Once you know this, you can then start to prepare responses to questions you are likely to be asked. Basically the interviewer is looking for evidence of what you have done to demonstrate specific factors that are critical for success, i.e. your competences.

Contact us for a full FREE copy of the GradGuide2011 to find out more information on preparing for an interview (along with practice questions and useful tips to confidently prepare) and a full guide to 'being professional'.

Additionally, this site has a host of fab articles to keep you going: